REMEMBER: Always read through the recipe several times and make sure that you have all of the ingredients on hand.  If you need to substitute anything, you can but, unfortunately its success is a hit or miss proposition.

A recipe is only as good as the ingredients that are used to make it !!  If you put top quality ingredients into your recipe, you'll get a top quality baked good. Use only the freshest and best ones that you can buy. Use real chocolate when making chocolate confections. Those chocolate-flavored morsels are cheaper, and that's exactly what they taste like. Store ingredients properly.

Check expiration dates on ingredients, and discard any expired ones. Make it a practice to check the dates on leavening, such as yeast, baking powder and baking soda, and anything perishable, such as dairy. Make sure any fats being used, such as butter or margarine, are not rancid. Smell and discard if any are. As I always say, "When in doubt, throw it out!"

Use the pan size as specified in the recipe. You can sometimes use another size; check my handy pan substitution chart to make sure. 

Have two dry, heavy-duty oven mitts that cover your wrist and part of your forearm. Baking pans, pizza stones, etc. get very hot in the oven. The longer mitt protects your arm, especially when it touches the hot baking rack in the oven, while putting or taking a pan from it. I should have followed my own advice sooner; I have many burn scars on my forearm from accidentally touching the edge of the oven rack when reaching in to put a recipe in or to take it out. Finally, I got smart.

Before baking, completely wash, rinse and dry the bowl, beaters, spatula, baking pans and all other utensils, including your hands. Sometimes the slightest trace of grease, dishwashing detergent, hand lotion, or cream will keep the recipe from working. Some cake recipes, such as Angel Food, require that pans and utensils be grease-free. Whipped egg whites, an important ingredient in the recipe, can even deflate from a tiny speck of fat.

Clean up as you go. For cleaning utensils and equipment used for making bread dough, rinse first with cold water, then switch to warm. Why? Warm water melts the dough and makes it sticky and hard to clean off. Also, avoid using plastic scour pads--once dough gets caught in the holes, and it will, the pads will never come clean again.

Pan sizes can sometimes be substituted, but it's always best to use the exact ones. Some recipes are better baked with glass pans, such as pies, but metal is preferred in others. Dark metal is used when making tarts and light metal is best used when making cakes or cookies. (For more information about pans).

Pans are prepared in different ways depending upon the recipe, which will be specified. Generally spray pans with canola or vegetable oil spray. Optionally line the bottom of a nonstick pan with a piece of parchment or waxed paper, and spray again. Generally, I don't recommend paper muffin liners, as some batters stick to them no matter what you do. But, if you choose to use them, also spray the insides of the liners with oil. 

For baking cookies, contrary to popular belief, shiny, nonstick and NON-insulated cookie sheets work best -- I prefer the rimless ones. They encourage even browning much better than insulated sheets. If your sheets don't have a non-stick coating, generously spray or line them with waxed paper or parchment paper. Silpat Liners can also be used, but not on insulated cookie sheets. If you like to use insulated ones, don't run out to the store to buy them; you can simulate them by stacking one regular cookie sheet over another. Be especially careful when you take them out of the oven; the top sheet should come first. 

For baking pies, I prefer ovenproof glass pie plates. They distribute the heat better than metal ones, and you can look underneath to see how the crust is browning. I also prefer ovenproof glass pans for fruit-based desserts, but you can use nonstick metal ones as well. Although glass manufacturers recommend reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees F when using their products, I never do it, and my pies and fruit desserts always turn out fine. Generously spray any ovenproof glass pans with oil or grease.

When making cakes, the pans have to be prepared according to the type of recipe; some are greased, while others aren't, especially when making an Angel Food Cake. Light colored metal is preferred when making cakes.

Prepare pastry bags or parchment cones, if using. 

Everyone's oven bakes differently and you need to get to know your own oven. The older ovens can be less reliable while the electric ovens tend to cook hotter and faster while gas ovens tend to cook slower.

Before turning on the oven (conventional), adjust the rack to the position designated in the recipe. Placement of the oven rack is dependent upon the size and type of food being baked. Baked goods are more delicate and are placed toward the middle to avoid burning on the underside or topside. The exception  are breads and pies, which are baked on a lower shelf in a gas oven.  In an electric oven, place them on the middle shelf. 

Don't turn on the oven, yet !! First, hang or place an oven thermometer in the oven, which is a must; ovens are notoriously off, sometimes by even 50 degrees F.  Some position two in the oven: in both the front of the oven as well as the back to find hot spots. Check the oven temperature to see that it matches the temperature set on the oven dial. Adjust the oven dial up or down to correct it. I keep mine in the oven at all times, as they are usually made to hang off of an oven shelf. If you don't have one, try a test cookie. If it burns easily or is underdone, the temperature may be too high or too low, or it could be from improper placement of the oven shelf.

After adjusting the shelves and placing the oven thermometer, preheat your oven.  Make sure the oven preheats for at least 20 minutes before using, because that's when it reaches a desired temperature. After 20 minutes,  check your oven thermometer and adjust the oven's temperature, if necessary.  

If using a convection oven, reduce the oven heat specified in the recipe by 25 to 50 degrees F, and preheat as well. I have found that convection ovens are best used when baking cookies. The conventional oven works best for bread, brownies, cakes and pies, but it's a personal preference.

Be careful not to under or overbeat or mix the ingredients. Work through every step quickly because some of the ingredients, when moistened and stirred, are already at work and can be used up or deflate. For example, baking soda starts reacting immediately, and keeps on going. If left out of the oven too long, it will use up all it's "leavening power" and the recipe won't bake properly, right when it's needed. Gluten, present in wheat flour, starts forming when it is moistened and stirred; it can be good for the recipe or not, depending upon what you are making. 

Pay special attention to mixing times and techniques. Go to the Index, where you'll find every type of baked good with a step-by-step explanation of the techniques particular to it. Select any one for details. I keep a timer next to me whenever I am mixing a recipe. When it says to "knead the bread for 8 to 10 minutes",  I set the timer to act as a guide; it really helps. Don't forget to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl during mixing, if applicable. 

When done mixing, get the batter or dough into the prepared pans as soon as possible; the recipe will direct you. Make sure you scrape all of the batter or dough, with a rubber spatula, into the pan. You'll be surprised at how much can be left behind if you don't. After filling, get the pan into a well-preheated oven, immediately.

The more pans that are in the oven at one time, the more the batter or dough has a chance that it will bake unevenly. I like to bake with 2 or 3 pans in the oven at a time, maximum. Pans need hot air circulating freely around them, and you should allow for at least an inch clearance between them and the sides of the oven. If you need to use two shelves, don't stack pans on the shelf right above or below one another, instead stagger them.  

Avoid opening the oven door during baking because you will cause the oven heat to vary, causing problems, as well. Just as heat makes steam and carbon dioxide expand, coolness causes contraction. Open the oven door before the crumb structure is set and a draft will burst the tiny bubbles and the cake, for example, will fall. Open only near the first suggested baking time in the recipe. For example, if a recipe says to "bake for 40 - 45 minutes", check on the recipe at about 35 minutes, by carefully and slowly opening the oven door.

Rotate the baking pans during baking, except for cakes which should be left alone. The oven is broken up into three baking zones--the upper 1/3 of the oven, the middle 1/3 and the lower 1/3 (5 to 6 inches from the bottom of the oven). If the oven temperature is correct, the oven heats unevenly, with “hot spots. The back of the oven is hotter than the front. If baking with one pan, rotate it from front to back on the same shelf. When baking two or more pans at the same time, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. This is so the recipe will bake more evenly. 

Some pastry recipes require a pie to be baked on a baking sheet (it does not have to be nonstick) in the lower third of the oven.  In a gas oven,  this places the pie plate nearest the source of the heat so its bottom can bake through.  In an electric oven, place the pie in the center rack. 

When making cookies, some people bake two sheets at a time, switching the position of the sheets halfway through baking. Place the racks in the top of the lower third and the bottom of the upper third of the oven before preheating. Stagger the cookie sheets so they are not directly on top of one another.  

Watch out for overbaking - when in doubt, slightly undercook the recipe ! Overbaking is one of the major causes of  failures, whether you are making breads, cakes, cookies or quick breads. The traditional way of testing for doneness can vary among each type of baked good. Click on any baking topic for help. 

Some baked goods are meant to be eaten right out of the pan, and can be cooled in the pan on a wire cake rack. For cake and loaf recipes that require unmolding, place the pan on a wire cake rack and let it stand for 5 - 10 minutes. If a baked good is right from the oven, chances are it will fall apart or stick to the pan if taken from it too soon. 

After 10 minutes, run a dull knife around the inside of the pan to release the cake, bread or quick-bread from the sides and then invert it onto the wire cake rack to unmold. If the loaf pan has been lined with parchment or waxed paper, carefully peel it off the loaf.  Turn the loaf right side up and cool completely on the rack.  A few cakes and quick breads may sink slightly in the center when cooled.  When they are sliced, the indentation won't be noticeable, so don't worry about it.  Cool cookies on a wire cake rack.

When serving your delicious frosted cake or even cookies, nothing gives a dessert more polish than a perfectly chosen garnish. It should be thought of as an accessory, one that enhances with the main dessert without stealing the show. Some can be simple, such as a dollop of whipped cream or more complex such as a chocolate sculpture. In all, it's best to think creatively about your dessert and choose a tasty token that will highlight its inherent goodness from the plate to the palate.

Some possible ideas are:

Always cool baked goods completely, on a wire cake rack, before storing. Generally, well wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in an airtight bag, baked goods can be frozen for up to 2 - 3  months, with some more or less in time.  Store all cheesecakes, cream pies, whipped cream or anything perishable, well-wrapped in the refrigerator, where they will last for 2 - 3 days.